Rain
Non-Album b-side: “Paperback Writer”
Written by: John
The drum and bass work on this 1966 b-side is tight and tasty and I want the world to know. Sure, it’s most definitely a dark horse favorite among Beatle fanatics, it’s even the name of a Broadway-level tribute act, but it typically evades the casuals and the naysayers who would probably think a little deeper about the band’s nearly unrivaled brilliance if they were to give it a listen.
“Rain” was an early example of middle-60s LSD enlightenment finding its way into popular music. It predates “Tomorrow Never Knows”, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, and “Strawberry Fields Forever,” making it perhaps the very first psychedelic sojourn for the Fab Four.
Fittingly, the lyrical content is filled with technicolor philosophy:
Can you hear me
That when it rains and shines
It’s just a state of mind?
The band created a unique sound on the record by recording the backing track fast and then slowing it down, a forebearer of the many revolutionary forays in the studio to come. It was also innovative in the use of backwards tape in its coda, something that would go on to be used in multiple other Beatles tracks and subsequently by other music greats like Jimi Hendrix and Yes. John reportedly stumbled upon the mystifying sound when accidentally running a tape backwards while attempting a considerably stoned listen-through following that day’s recording session.
Artistic innovation aside, this song is just plain good. It’s a bright and beautiful rocker with great lyrics, dazzling harmonies, and fantastic playing throughout. Next time some heathen tries to tell you the Beatles weren’t much on their instruments, do them a favor and show them “Rain”, then backhand the headphones off of their ignorant skull. That bass line is your daddy and you know it.
